<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by 1000k00:
Traveler would you care to list some of the numerous farang behaviors I should be aware of?</font>
OK, but please don't shoot the messenger! Most of this comes from discussions in Thai, but I believe the translations are quite accurate. The following highlights are based on the presumed desire of a western foreigner to be respected and not to be taken as a (literal translation follows)
lousy or low-end farang- Women should not wear slippers at all, and preferably wear a skirt and blouse with long sleeves (sheer sleeves on blouse acceptable)
- Men should wear slacks, a belt (specifically mentioned by Thais), shoes, and a long-sleeved shirt. A tie would be even better.
- No flip flops on the street at any time (unless you are pushing a cart and selling various cooked and fresh insects).
- Do not walk fast. Rather, observe and try to blend in with the leisurely pace of Thais.
- Do not walk with arms out, away from body, and (a slightly loose translation from Thai): don't look like you would be comfortable dragging your knuckles on the sidewalk.
- Be polite!
This list is only for starters, and I'm sure that many would say that it is old-fashioned and overly conservative, and that they dress and act far more casually... but, as I witness all the time, I am doubly sure that such individuals have been the recipient of numerous derogatory comments spoken in Thai directly to their faces, from smiling Thais.